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The Dance Competition
"Are you excited?" Anna asked, while we were packing for our big trip. "Totally! I can't believe we're going to Chicago! We're quarterfinalists," I said. Anna and I were packing to go to Chicago, where we'll be participating in the quarterfinals of the US Girls' Dance Competition. If we do well, we go to L.A. for the semifinals, and if we do well there, we go to the finals in New York City. "Lisa, this is huge for Scottsdale Dance Academy. We won the state competition, and now we're going to compete against people from all around the country. We need to be as good as possible," Anna said. "Yeah, there's 47 other teams, but only 24 teams go to semifinals. There are 12 groups of 4 teams, and 2 teams per group advance. I think our group is us, Texas, Utah, and Maryland," I said. "Girls, did you pack your costumes?" my mom asked. "Yes, mom," I said. "Leotards?" she asked. "Yes." "Tights?" "Yeah," we replied. "Makeup?" she asked. "Of course!" we said. "Good. Finish up." The next day, we met up with the team, our choreographer Sharon, and her assistant, Amanda. "Okay, girls, make a single file line, take off your shoes and jackets, take out all your electronics, and get a box for security," Sharon said. "I can't wait to get there," Anna said. There are 14 on the team, so it was kind of crowded. The team is Anna, Emily, Tiffany, Jenna, Samantha, Haley, Alyssa, Ashley, Claire, Briana, Rachel, Ali, and I. "Do you think we'll be good?" Ashley asked me. "Definitely," I replied. "We won the state competition. It's pretty much the same thing." When we got on the plane, Sharon and Amanda gave us assigned seats. Anna sat by Ashley, and I sat by Rachel. "I love the tap dance. It's our best dance, and I love the costume!" Rachel said. "I know, I love that!" I said. I was upset that I was far away from Anna, but I still had Rachel, and Samantha and Tina were sitting across from us. "I think we'll do good in jazz, too," I said. "Oh yeah! We know that one really well. I love the side leap ripple," Rachel added. "I think Utah is supposed to be really good. Their dancers are great," Tina told us. "We have to do our best. Besides, half of the small group moves on," Rachel said. "I think we can win," Tina said. "Of course we'll do good! We're the best dance team in Arizona!" I said. "We still need to rehearse a lot before Saturday," Samantha said. "Totally. Practice makes perfect," Rachel said. When we got off the plane, Sharon, Amanda, and our moms directed us to the luggage pick-up, and then to the bus to the hotel. "Okay girls, partner up," Sharon said. I rapidly grabbed Anna's arm. "The girl you picked will b e your roommate for the trip." "Yay!" Anna said. "I was hoping you'd be my roommate!" "Me too! I can't wait!" I said. When we arrived at the hotel, our hotel attendant, Gail, showed us the fifth floor, where our rooms were. "Room 339 belongs to Haley and Samantha, and 340 goes to Tiffany and Brianna. When I give you your room number, your chaperone will give you your key," Gail said. "Okay, 341 belongs to Ashley and Jenna, and 342 belongs to Emily and Rachel. 343 goes to Alyssa and Claire, and 344 goes to Ali and Tina, and 345 goes to Anna and Lisa." When we got into our room, we jumped onto our beds. We knew that Sharon and Amanda were only 2 doors away, so we had to be on our best behavior. Our moms were in other rooms. "I am so tired. That flight was like 2 hours long," Anna said. "Me too. And we have to rehearse tomorrow. I hope our costumes are okay," I said. "Yeah, I bet they are. Hey aren't there like 7 other teams staying here?" I asked. "Yeah, I saw Michigan, Oregon, and Illinois in the lobby. I also heard about Nebraska, Vermont, and Delaware." "Wow, none of those teams are in our group," I said. "I know, that's weird!" Anna said. The next day, Sharon had us wake up at 9 AM so we could go to breakfast. We went to the hotel restaurant. "Okay girls, we'll be rehearsing from 11 to 11:30, then 3 to 4 in the afternoon," Sharon said. "You'll need to wear your leotards, tights, and team shorts. Please be outside on time so we can leave for the theatre on time," Amanda added. "Remember, we begin the competition tomorrow, so make sure you have the correct makeup," Sharon said. "That's right, you need lipstick, blush, mascara, and eye shadow," Amanda said. "Your costumes are in our room at the auditorium." It was rehearsal time, so we got to practice in the theatre rehearsal studio for 30 minutes. "Okay, for a warm-up, do your stretch, then do 3 double pirouettes," Amanda said. I LOVE pirouettes. I can do singles, doubles, and triples. "You have 7 minutes to warm up, then we'll run the dance," Sharon said. The dance turned out great. Everyone was completely in sync, and we were really good. When we finished running the jazz dance, we put on our tap shoes and began the tap dance, My favorite part is the time steps. After that we did the lyrical dance. Lyrical is a mixture of jazz and ballet where you express the meaning of the lyrics. Only nine of us do the gymnastics number. I do it with Anna, Jenna, Rachel, Tina, Ali, Emily, Haley, and Tiffany. We do walkovers, handsprings, cartwheels, and awesome lifts. When rehearsal was over, we went to lunch, and then went shopping. "Girls, you need to stay with your group at all times," Sharon said. "Remember, we rehearse again at 3," Amanda said. "Chicago is so fabulous!" I said. "I know, I love it already!" Anna said. We went to so many stores like H+M, Macy's, Aeropostale, and Bath and Body Works. I bought a scarf, a top, and a lotion. Anna got a necklace, a top, and a hand sanitizer. When we got back to the hotel, we rested for a little while so we could get ready for the second rehearsal. Once it was time to go, we all got on the bus to go back to the theatre. In that rehearsal, we ran all the dances 4 times. We were much better compared to last rehearsal. At dinner, we talked about how the competition was going to work. Sharon and Amanda explained everything very clearly. They wanted us all in bed by 9 so we could be ready for tomorrow. It was the big day. We had to be there at 12:00. Anna and I invited Tina and Ali over to run the dances with us in our room. We then got everything together to get on the bus. When we arrived at the theatre, there was a massive audience. I was nervous already. We went to our dressing room to talk before we danced. We were group 3. We were first in our group, since it went in alphabetical order. We heard the announcement of the 1st group. "Group one...4th place goes to Alabama, and 3rd place goes to Idaho. Congratulations to those teams, who will unfortunately not be going to the semifinals. 2nd place goes to... Michigan! And that means that California wins 1st place in group 1! Michigan and California, you will be moving on to semifinals in Los Angeles. Congratulations," the announcer said. "Girls, please, please do your best! I know you can do it," Amanda said. After group 2 finished, the announcer came out to give the results. "Group 2...4th place goes to South Dakota, and 3rd place goes to Vermont. Congratulations to you both. 2nd place goes to.... Tennessee! And our 1st place winner is New York! Both teams move on to semifinals in Los Angeles. Congratulations!" We were next. Jazz was up first. We were fantastic. Amanda told us to do our best and we did. We had to go and change into tap while Texas, Utah, and Maryland did their dances. Tap was great, too. We sounded perfect. After that, it was time for lyrical. We did great until Haley tripped on her costume. Luckily, she got right back up and we did awesome. Gymnastics was up next. I was so nervous. I fell on my handspring. I was so worried I let the whole team down. Once it was time for results, I was shaking. "Group 3, 4th place goes to Texas and 3rd place goes to Maryland. 2nd place goes to....Arizona!" I was so upset. I felt like my fall let us down until..." I'm sorry, 2nd place goes to Utah! 1st place goes to Arizona! Both teams go to semifinals! We were so happy. I was happy. We had won and we're going to Los Angeles next month. We passed quarterfinals. The End by WriterGirl555